Linda Abriola

Linda Marie Abriola is an American environmental and civil engineer who specializes in the study of organic chemical liquid contaminants in porous media. She is currently the Joan Wernig and E. Paul Sorensen Professor of Engineering at the Brown University School of Engineering.

Academic history and positions Abriola attended Drexel University, graduating with a B.S. in civil engineering in 1976. She continued her education at Princeton University, where she earned her Ph.D. in civil engineering in 1983.

From 1984 to 2003 she served on the faculty of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan. There she directed the Environmental and Water Resources Engineering Program from 1996 to 2001.

In 2003 she left the University of Michigan to become dean of the School of Engineering at Tufts University, and holds a position as professor of civil and environmental engineering, and adjunct professor in chemical and biological engineering. She also directs the Integrated Multiphase Environmental Systems Laboratory at Tufts.

In 2016, she was selected as a U.S. Science Envoy by the United States State Department.

Research Abriola's research has focused on describing the behavior of organic chemical liquid contaminants in porous media, through the combination of laboratory experimentation and mathematical models. She was one of the first to create a mathematical model of the interphase mass partitioning and non-aqueous phase migration of organic liquid contaminants in the subsurface flow. She is particularly known for the research she has done on the characterization and remediation of chlorinated solvent-contaminated aquifers.

Recently, she has used a combination of models and lab experimentation to examine the influence of abiotic and biotic processes on the persistence of organics and on the effectiveness of aquifer remediation technologies. 2022 class of Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2013 Engineering Leader of the Year Award, Drexel University 2012 Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) Environmental Restoration Project of the Year Award

Family Abriola is the daughter of Joseph and Gloria Christian Abriola. She is married to Lawrence Albert, and has three children.